Brian Floca’s muted illustrations are gorgeous and detailed; train buffs will enjoy studying the nuanced drawings. The narrative has the free-style poetry version of an engine’s rhythm, celebrating the railroad’s domination of a place where “the country opens, opens wide, empty as an ocean.”

We’ll pause here to note that Floca avoids any remarks on the social and ethical aspects of the changes wrought by the railroad. He keeps the tone as merrily self-congratulatory as a World War II newsreel.Read more…